Monday evening KIA Molde served the traditional Norwegian dish fårikål at the International Café in the church basement.
By CASSIE YANG and EDEN GAO (photo)
Autumn is the season when farmers in Norway bring their sheep down from the mountains. Norwegian people make fårikål (which literally translates to sheep-in-cabbage), a traditional meal with mutton and cabbage to celebrate the wonderful harvest. This evening, International Café held by KIA Molde offered a fårikål dinner for people from different countries in the basement of Molde Cathedral.
KIA (Kristent Interkulturelt Arbeid/Christian Intercultural Work) is an organization that aims to integrate people from all over the world into the Norwegain culture and help them live better in Norway.
«We want to offer a platform for people with different backgrounds, different nationalities and different religions to exchange their culture and help them feel integrated in Norway,» said Reidar Andestad, the leader of KIA Molde and the organizer of International Café.
He added:
«We choose to hold International Café in the basement of the church because there is large space for all guests together with a kitchen we use. People of all religions are welcome here.»
The dinner started with saying grace by singing the Norwegian prayer «O, du som metter liten fugl» (Lord, you feed the little bird). After that, Norwegian families together with international guests began the traditional dinner. The special food of mutton, cabbage and potatoes was delicious and made me feel warm in the cold night. After the meal, there was a quiz about Norwegian culture with local snacks as prizes. It was quite an unforgettable dinner for everyone there.
The following recipe for fårikål is from Monday evening’s main cook, Sunniva Andestad. She was one of the volunteers who made the delicious food for all the guests.
Ingredients (serves five):
2 kg lamb mutton with bone (from shoulder, shank or neck)
2 kg cabbage
500 ml water
8 tsp whole black peppercorns
Salt to taste (about 3 tsp)
15-20 medium sized potatoes
Preparation:
- Cut the lamb mutton with bone into 3cm slices.
- Cut the cabbage into quarters, take out the core part and cut each quarter into 3-4 wedges.
- Pour the water into a pot. Place a layer of lamb, then a layer of cabbage into the pot. Remember to add some salt and several whole black peppercorns in each layer.
- Cover the pot and heat to boil.
- Simmer over a low heat for 3 hours until the lamb is tender and falling off the bone. (If the water is dry, add some water in the procedure.)
- Find another pot to boil the peeled potatoes.
- Served on warmed plates together with several potatoes and it will be delicious.